Lawyer Drags FG To Court Over N1.5bn Allocation To First lady's Office

A legal practitioner, Mr. Maxwell Opara has filed a suit at the Federal High Court Abuja challenging the N1.5 billion allocation to the Office of the First Lady of Nigeria in the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Act recently signed into law. Joined in the suit are the National Assembly, Senator Oluremi Tinubu and President Muhammadu Buhari. Opara contends that the allocation violates constitutional provisions as the Office of the First Lady is not recognized in the 1999 Constitution. Through an Originating Summons, the lawyer is seeking court declarations that it is unlawful for the National Assembly to approve budgetary allocations to an office not created by the Constitution. He argues that Sections 80, 81, 84 and 162 of the Constitution prescribe eligible beneficiaries of federal allocations to exclude the First Lady’s office. The court processes revealed that the N1.5 billion was part of the over N2 trillion supplementary budget for purchasing vehicles for the Office of the First Lady. Opara further submitted that under Section 171, the President lacks powers to appoint anyone to a constitutionally non-existent office like First Lady. He described the allocation as “unconstitutional, invalid and unlawful.” The suit comes up for hearing in the coming weeks